ICS volunteer April Quigley absolutely smashed her £800 fundraising target to raise a whopping £1245 before her placement with Raleigh in Nepal. Check out how she did it and her top tips to help you reach your own goal.…

In 2017, VSO’s International Board recruited two Youth Advisers, young returned ICS volunteers with personal experience of VSO’s programming – Takyiwa Danso, 25 from the UK, and Felix Owino, 26, from Kenya – both…

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about my experience as an ICS team leader and how it’s shaped who I’ve gone on to become. I’ve been a confident person for as long as I can remember – but I wouldn’t say being in a leadership role…

For almost 700,000 refugees, Cox’s Bazar in eastern Bangladesh is all they have to call home. For those arriving – with more than half being children – lasting trauma and a lack of education continues to define…

Fundraising can be a daunting experience (we hear ya!). But, we’re lucky over at ICS HQ because we get to hear stories of inspirational volunteers achieving the one thing they thought they couldn’t and hitting (or often exceeding)…

I live in Uganda. As a woman here, 60% of us have experienced violence in our lifetime. One in five of us have suffered physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner in the last year. And one in four in…

It’s that time of year again! A year of skipping lectures to have a lovely lie in and putting off essays to the last minute comes back to bite. EXAMS!! But, fear not! With a little careful planning and creativity there’s no reason…

At 18, Keah Mcilwain was volunteering with ICS in Nepal when the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the remote village of Sotipasal, in the central district of Lamjung. Keah and her fellow volunteers…

Every year the WOW Festival at London’s Southbank brings together some of the world’s most inspiring women to take a closer look at the issues affecting women globally and celebrate the leaps being made to tackle…

When Nigerian ICS volunteer Kenechukwu 'KC' Ogbuagu, 25, started West Africa’s first board game convention back in 2016, he knew he was onto something big. Two years and his first crowdfunded event later and he’s…

So you’re back home after your placement and raring to go! Well, fundraising is one of the best ways to support a charity you care about. And there’s no doubt you can do it – you’ve already fundraised for your…

As you’ll know from your own placement, volunteering is a great way to work directly with those affected by local issues. It’s really rewarding to make a difference to the lives of those in your home community as…

Rebecca Pearce spent three months volunteering in Tanzania with Raleigh International. While she was there, she used her love for photography to capture moments in her host home and her project, leaving them…

With so much political upheaval at the minute, countries are looking inward to focus on domestic concerns, and so there’s less interest in global issues like poverty. It’s important to get international…

Campaigning is all about creating change, and can be one of the most effective ways to achieve your aims. It can give a voice to those without one, or bring people together to rally behind a particular cause.…

So as some/most/all of you will be aware, the biggest holiday cash-cow is fast approaching, and we want you to have a slice of the takings. That is right, Valentine’s Day is happening on Wednesday February 14th. Here are a few…

Every single ICS placement is different. Whether its because it’s based in a new setting, that you will meet new people, or work on different projects that will challenge you. But the one that’s for sure – is…

Selling cakes, car boot sales, dinner parties and bucket collections. Whatever the idea, whatever the season, ICS volunteers are engaged in fundraising. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself why you fundraise and what you really…

For Paul Asiawon, 24, ICS taught him to see disability in a different way. After spending his International Service ICS placement supporting other people with disabilities to fully engage with the community, he’s…

Having volunteered with Tearfund ICS once, Mtambo returned as an ICS Team Leader in the summer of 2015. He led a team of UK and South African volunteers in the township of Chesterville, near Durban. The…

22-year-old Charlotte Curry from Langport, Somerset will be having a rather different Christmas dinner this year – swapping her sister’s thai curry for a traditional Nepalese meal while on her VSO ICS placement…